Saturday, December 13, 2014

Weed Control in Zoysia Turf - Seed Sown or Sod

Weeds in zoysia are mostly fixable.

We suggest mowing followed by even more
mowing as an option, allowing the strong density of zoysia to eventually win
out. There are two classic You Tube
videos from the USA showing Compadre zoysia in two successive years - year one is
awful [ and I thought - what a disaster], but in year two it is a magnificent Compadre
zoysia lawn. Mowing and a strong zoysia species - Compadre zoysia - helped fix that problem.

Most broadleaved weeds in Compadre or Zenith seed sown zoysias are controllable with Kamba - M, a commercially available dicamba / MCPA mix. Approx price $30 for 1L. A small quantity will last several years and is NOT residual. Several repeat sprays may be needed. Use
at recommended rates, and small areas can be sprayed with small hand spray
bottles. A few drops of detergent in the mix [ just a few drops!!] may help hold spray on plant leaves.

Or use one of the slow release fertilisers with
pendimethalin in the blend as a seedling grass control - while it will not
control emerged seedlings it will stop more summer growing grass weeds establishing for up to 10 - 12 weeks. You must use at the recommended rate, which is on the bag.

You can also wick wipe weeds with glyphosate - BUT you
must avoid the zoysia seedlings as they can be easily damaged if herbicide gets
onto their leaves. This can be useful if
weeds are taller than the seedlings, as is often the situation. Multiple applications may be needed. Commercial outlets sell wick wipers or see www.sherwoodmachinery.com.au who make excellent small units [ any of the 4 smaller rope wick units] and supply by post.

Sedges may also be a problem. First issue with sedges if they appear usually means overwatering. Use less applications and make each one longer, if that much water is really needed. If the soil dries out between waterings, sedges are less of an issue. Or reduce overall watering - the lawn is likely to be okay with less water Small 25g packs of Sempra are now available through commercial outlets - this is a very specific sedge herbicide [halosulfuron]. Use as directed, and we suggest also continuing to use as a spot spray where needed, after that. One or two applications usually removes well over 90% of the sedges, but often a few odd plants reappear - so spot spray them as needed.

There are other possible herbicides but some are not
available to home owners, and cannot be recommended for use except by commercial operators.